


That One Where Murasakibara Can't Read English

by isweartocoffee



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Slow Build, same high school au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 02:01:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4503522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isweartocoffee/pseuds/isweartocoffee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Kise is too sweet for his own good and Murasakibara isn't as big of an idiot as everyone thought</p><p>(Unfinished. Edited Last: 10-30-16)</p>
            </blockquote>





	That One Where Murasakibara Can't Read English

**Author's Note:**

  * For [makuramotou](https://archiveofourown.org/users/makuramotou/gifts).



> First one to ask gets this fic gifted to them, and we have a winnerrrr. Truly my biggest fan and ultimate motivation to get back to writing every single time.
> 
> Dialogue heavy in places, and it starts out on Kise but shifts to Mura shhhh don't worry it'll be okay.  
> i stole the "kise gives his fanclub chocolate to murasakibara" thing from another fic whoops.  
> big purple's shirt is [here](http://www.zazzle.com/funny_tall_person_t_shirt_610-235161606353060278). kise's shirt doesn't exist lmao

"Kise-kun, you're late again."

Atsushi lifted his head to see a very frantic and disheveled teammate bursting through the door of the gym. "Ahh, Kurokocchi!" Kise's smile brightened a little, and then immediately dropped as he mouthed, 'Help me.'

The team didn't even have time to be confused by the request; a horde of girls spilled through the door tailing after Kise. They were all holding boxes of chocolates and demanding his attention. Two of the girls were getting rather physical, pushing the other out of the way to be first in line.

Quick to his friend's aid, if only because Akashi would get angry at the crowd impeding practice, Kuroko sauntered over. "Excuse me, ladies, but Kise-kun has to start warming-up now. Perhaps you could continue this after practice."  
Kise pulled a face that meant that wasn't quite what he had in mind, but it was better than nothing.

"But we have to give him our chocolates! It's Valentine's Day!" shouted the emphatic girl pulling on another's hair.

"I couldn't possible accept all of this no-doubt delectable chocolate," Kise tried, flashing a fake smile.

"Sure you can," Kuroko insisted. All of the girls straightened up in hope.

Kise glared at him. "Ahh. Kurokocchi's right- how can I deny my lovely lady audience," he said through gritted teeth. The crowd simply vibrated with excitement. "I accept all of your chocolates! However, I can only carry so much by myself. If you would be so kind as to hand them to Kurokocchi, so he can help me carry them to my locker!"

All the girls seemed to be in agreement and promptly shoved their boxes into Kuroko's befuddled and unamused hands. Kise gave every one of them a quick peck on the cheek and a quiet thanks in their ear, and with that, they were gone.

"Why did you do that?" Kuroko asked, dropping one of the boxes by accident. From the bench, Atsushi followed the dropped box with his eyes.

"You started it!" Kise pouted. Neither bothered to pick up the box as they headed toward the locker room. (Atsushi sprang to his feet, skittered across the room to snatch up the box before Kise decided he missed it, and slipped into the locker room to put it in his bag.) "What the hell am I going to do with all of this chocolate now?"

Kuroko watched absently as Kise changed into his uniform. "Eat it?"

"Kurokocchi, you know very well that I can't have all of these sweets; I'll get fat! You take them."

For a brief moment, Kuroko considered the offer. He'd never received chocolates on Valentine's Day before. "I'll take one," he mumbled, setting one inside his own locker.

"Give the rest to Murasakibaracchi, then. He likes candy."

Atsushi's ears perked at the sound of his name. In another moment, Kuroko had appeared- almost materialized- behind him and shoved all of the boxes into his hand. "From Kise-kun." He stared after his shorter teammate for a moment before stuffing all of the boxes into his bag.

That was nice of Kise-chin to give me chocolate."

\-----

The very next week, Kuroko and Aomine were saying their goodbyes to the team after practice, whispering to themselves about getting ice cream. Kise cordially invited himself along, and only gained their agreement at the prospect that he would pay. "Why doesn't everyone just tag along then," Aomine complained.

"I'll come," Atsushi said, filing in behind Kuroko.

"I was kidding! Don't follow us!"

"Ice cream," was the only explanation he offered. It wasn't like Aomine could physically make him leave anyway.

As the four began walking toward the convenience store, Kise filled most of the silence. It was painfully obvious that Kuroko was the only one acknowledging Kise, more out of courtesy than actual interest. Atsushi was listening (he was always listening), but chose to keep out of the conversation (talking and responding accordingly exerted way too much energy). Aomine was leading the group, fuming, stomping, griping.

"And then Shelby- the American girl- starts talking about how she missed these things called 'Jim Slims,' which are these sticks of meat, oh excuse me, debatably they're meat, and these thing called Pop-Tarts, which I saw at the supermarket in Tokyo once! They're purely chemicals in the shape of a square, there's no pastry to them at all, but they-!"

"Kise, are you going to get to the point of this story soon?" Aomine grunted out, earning him a pat on the shoulder from Kuroko.

"Shhhh, Mine-chin, he was talking about snacks."

"See, Aominecchi?? Murasakibaracchi is interested in the story."

Aomine rolled his eyes, the pat doing naught to appease him. "Where are you even going with this? What was the original moral to whatever you're talking about?"

"You guys weren't saying anything! I wouldn't have come along if I'd known you guys were going to be boring." Kise's pout, Atsushi decided, must have been one of those practiced ones for photoshoots.

"You weren't invited in the first place! Why is it our job to keep you entertained??"

"If you didn't want me tagging along, you should've said something!"

Aomine stopped walking and shoved Kise by the shoulder. "You fumbled at least six times today, you missed the few close-range shots you were allowed to have, and now you're ruining my alone time with Tetsu. Can't you stop fucking things up for, like, an hour?" The cute pout dropped and was replaced by an unreadable expression. Aomine grabbed Kuroko's arm and dragged him away from the other two. The only thing Kuroko could do was shrug in Kise's direction before continuing walking away.

Sharp, cutting pain flashed across Kise's ordinarily bright eyes, but he blinked it away. He turned to Atsushi. "Well?"

"What?"

"You can leave now. They did."

"I still want ice cream."

A humorless smile graced Kise's face. "Right. Ice cream. That's what I'm good for. Fine."

As they started toward a different convenient store, Atsushi placed his palm on Kise's head and rubbed gently. When prompted about why, he offered, "That's the look Muro-chin used to have before he'd stop talking for a couple days. Kise-chin didn't finish his story about the snacks, and I wanted to hear about the Pop Pastries. And now Mine-chin can't interrupt."

Kise scoffed, but went on to talk of American snacks, albeit with much less enthusiasm. An off-handed comment about how Aominecchi had a stick up his ass made Atsushi crinkle his nose, saying he wants to taste the alleged Jim Slims before imagining them being stuck up Mine-chin's butt.

The tears Kise had been holding in streamed from his eyes, though accompanied by laughter and hiccups.

Atsushi decided that was a good thing.

\-----

Finals were right around the corner, and the entire team was ecstatic at the notion of kissing their first year goodbye. Though, it was a very muted feeling, lulled by the overwhelming dread of the tests and projects due. Even Aomine was starting to worry that he might not make second year.  
"Midorima, help."  
"I already told you, in fact, I'm not doing your homework, Aomine."  
"But you're good at science shit."  
"Ask Murasakibara."  
"What?? That lazy sack of shit is just as hopeless as I am!"  
"Aomine-kun, don't be rude."  
"I'd advise that you listen to Shintarou, Daiki. It appears that Atsushi could be of some value to you."  
"How the hell could-"  
Atsushi stole the paper from Aomine's hand and flicked his eyes across the messy handwriting. "You used the wrong formula."  
"What the hell do you mean, 'wrong formula'?"  
"The answer would be right if you were finding the average acceleration, but the question is asking you to find the instantaneous acceleration, so you need to use the other formula."  
Aomine's jaw dropped.  
"Atsushi is actually very knowledgable about-"  
"Ah... In fact, that's debatable, Akashi."  
"-Physics, especially rotational physics. He's highly skilled in memorizing the material at a single glance, and retaining the information. Not a bad study companion, if I'm to be honest."  
"Also debatable."  
"It would be in your best interest to consider letting him assist you."  
Aomine huffed.  
Atsushi snarled. "Don't wanna help him."  
"Now Atsushi, be reasonable. If Daiki fails this final, he won't be able to advance."  
"Don't care."  
"I'll buy you whatever confectiinaries are necessary for a two-hour cram session."  
Atsushi crossed his arms and blew his hair out of his face, murmuring a very disgruntled, "I'll eat them."  
\-----  
Although Atsushi was easily swayed, Aomine was a tougher egg to crack. He didn't open the door when his purple-headed teammate knocked, and ignored him for a solid twenty minutes before shouting for him to Go away.  
"Mine-chin. You'll have to open the door. Kise-chin and Kuro-chin will be here in a few minutes."  
"Go away Mur-" The voice sounded loud and far away, with following booming footsteps. The door flung open and there stood a very tired, very exasperated Power Forward. "Tetsu's coming?"  
Atsushi hummed, chewing on his potato chips. There were several grocery bags overflowing with more foodstuffs by his feet. "I don't care if you don't pass, but Kuro-chin won't be happy standing outside."  
With a loud, drawn-out, inflected groan, Aomine slammed the door and opened it again. "Whatever. Get in here."  
Atsushi grabbed his food and shuffled inside, barely pardoning his intrusion as it wasn't much of an intrusion at all. He kicked off his shoes and took two barefoot steps to the nearby table. "Kise-chin is bringing cookies."  
"I don't give a shit," Aomine didn't bother lowering his volume.  
There was a fifteen minute period where neither of them spoke. The materials were on the table, untouched, and the two boys were trying not to make any unnecessary conversation, kneeling on oppsite ends of the table. Munching filled the air between and crumbs plopped to the floor. Not for the first time, it occured and reoccured to them that perhaps this was a terrible fucking idea, but before they could go to words that would merge into blows, there was another knock at the door.  
Kise invited himself in, Kuroko in tow. They made small talk about how much material they had to cover, and which would be the best to start studying first. Aomine practically spat when Kise took the spot adjacent to him, forcing Kuroko across from him with a forbearing smile.  
Atsushi sat up straighter. "Did you bring-"  
"Aha, Murasakibaracchi! I did not forget." Kise unzipped his bag and retrieved a tupperware container of freshly-baked cookies. "Although, I lied. My mom made them. I'm afraid I'm nothing but a fraud." He covered his eyes with his forearm and sniffled.  
"That's okay, you were a fraud before, too." Atsushi stuffed one in his mouth. The cookies themselves were no longer warm, but the chocolate chips were still gooey.  
Kise's jaw dropped and Aomine snickered. "Like you expect us to believe the camera captures your 'true inner self,' Kise."  
"I am one hundred percent genuine for my photo shoots! I hardly even wear makeup anymore." A look of incredulity settled on Aomine's face, so he licked his thumb and smeared it across the blond's cheek. Kise screamed and smacked the hand, covered with a smudged film of foundation, away. "Foundation doesn't count!" His own hand came up to scrub at the drying saliva.  
"My ass. What about your eye shadow shit?"  
"It's eyeliner, and that's just to enhance my features. See?" A flick of his eyes and a drag of his fingers along his jawline, Kise wiggled his eyebrows in his friend's direction.  
The recipient was unperturbed. "Again, my ass."  
"I hate to agree with Aomine-kun, but eyeliner and foundation are both makeup products."  
"What do you mean, 'hate to agree with'?"  
"Okay, whatever! Makeup aside- Oh!" The blond's eyes fell on Atsushi (uninterested in the topic, as he had crumbs all over his own face and could not comment). He straightened his back and dove into his backpack. "I almost forgot! Shelby- that girl I told you about- she gave me these to give to you!" He resurfaced holding air-tight sealed snack sticks.  
Atsushi grabbed the package, the red and yellow loud on the front. "Are these the Jim Slim things you-"  
"Uh-huh! She had a friend of hers mail her some and she said, 'Give some to that basketball friend of yours.'" He held one up to Aomine's cheek. "Care for one, Aominecchi?"  
Aomine was muttering something to Kuroko, making the latter smile and smack his arm telling him to be nice. "What? Oh, no. Ew what the fuck? What is that?"  
One Slim Jim was hanging out of Atsushi's mouth as he reached for the one proffered to Aomine. "They're delicious, that's what they are."  
Aomine rolled his eyes and made some gesture, Kuroko smiling even wider.  
For the next hour, they exchanged answers to practice problems and reviewed certain vocabulary. Kise's best fundamental subject was English, able to read and write at a basic level, but his pronunciation of the words he wrote were far more advanced. He stated that if you can learn English, you can learn any language. Aomine rolled his eyes and said that he only needs to know how to ask for the toilet and for a broom closet, with a wink toward Kuroko. Although he wasn't interested in retaining the knowledge, he seemed to grasp the formulas themselves; if he could learn when to apply which, he could pass his final. Kuroko rubbed his friend's forearm and said if Aomine got a high mark, the two of them would celebrate however he pleased. Aomine's nose was practically glued to his textbook after that.  
"If you'll excuse me," Kuroko said, standing. "I'm going to get a drink."  
"Oh, drinks are a good idea. Aominecchi, you're a sucky host! I'll help you, Kurokocchi."  
Aomine's eyes followed the pair as they left, grinning for reasons unknown. After having witnessed their interactions over the last hour, Atsushi stared until Aomine physically felt the weight of his eyes. "What?"  
"You could at least tell him."  
"Tell who what?"  
"Kise-chin."  
"Tell Kise what?"  
"That you can't return his feelings." He plucked another cookie from the box and bit it.  
The air sat heavily, filled with lazy and bemused blinks respectively, before Aomine shook his head and turned back to his textbook. "If that idiot can't take a hint, he deserves whatever happens."  
"He didn't do anything to-"  
"Mind your damn business, Murasakibaka."  
There were few things that made Murasakibara Atsushi positively irate. People taking his snacks without permission was one, a close second being forced to do things he didn't want to do. But, at the moment, he would probably agree that being told to 'mind his damn business' topped the list. He crumbled the rest of the cookie in his palm and snarled. "I'll crush you."  
"Whoa hey, what's all this crushing about?" Kise bounced back in the room with a glass of water in each hand. Atsushi took a deep breath and unclenched his hand, allowing the cookie bits to fall to the floor; the horrified noise from the owner of the house was well worth the wasted snack.  
"Aomine-kun, are you taunting Murasakibara-kun again?"  
Aomine didn't even dignify his inquiry with a response.  
\-----  
From: Kise Chin Murasakibaracchi!!!! Im so sorry youre the last one to get your graduation present, but I promise its in the mail!!! ｍ(｡≧Д≦｡)ｍ  
To: Kise Chin is it more slim jims those were tasty  
From: Kise Chin Nooooo its wayyyyy better I swear ( ◞´•௰•`)  
To: Kise Chin is it nerunerunerune cuz nothings better than that  
From: Kise Chin Nope not that either!!! It isnt food you silly (｡-∀-)  
From: Kise Chin By the way, I wanted to thank you on Aominecchis behalf!!!!!! That was sweet of you to help him pass even though he doesnt deserve it (｡’▽’｡)♡  
To: Kise Chin dont thank me for him he isnt grateful so i dont care  
From: Kise Chin No no no thats not it at all!!! He really is thankful that you helped him. He seems like an idiot and he is but it means a lot for him to still be able to play basketball with us (⌒▽⌒)☆  
Atsushi lay in bed, rereading the conversation. How could Kise-chin be such an idiot? More importantly, how was he going to intentionally piss Mine-chin off by making it his business? It was times like these where he really wished he had stayed with Muro-chin at his high school.  
Muro-chin. That was it; he could ask Himuro what to do.  
To: Muro Chin muro chin i need ur help r u awake  
They hadn't spoken in a couple weeks, sparringly chatting every now and again, but Himuro kept his word that he'd be there whenever Atsushi was in a predicament.  
From: Muro Chin ahhh atsushi! to what do i owe this great pleasure at... it's eight in the evening, why would you think i'd be asleep right now?  
To: Muro Chin i need ur help  
From: Muro Chin yes, you mentioned that. i can't help you unless you tell me what's wrong.  
To: Muro Chin mine chin is hurting kise chin and he needs to stop doing that  
From: Muro Chin would these be the rumored aomine and kise from the famous teiko generation of miracles?  
To: Muro Chin yeah kise chin likes mine chin and mine chin likes kuro chin but kise chin is stupid so how do i tell kise chin  
From: Muro Chin atsushi it is unlike you to get in unnecessary qualms. do you have some involvement in this?  
To: Muro Chin no.  
From: Muro Chin right, of course not. well it sounds to me like you need to be direct with this kise. tell him that you think aomine isn't good for him and that he should find someone better.  
To: Muro Chin wat do i do if he asks who the better some1 is  
From: Muro Chin i'm sure you'll think of something, atsushi. best of luck.  
To: Kise Chin there is some1 better find them  
From: Kise Chin ???? What are you saying Murasakibaracchi?? Am I missing something ヾ(*ㅿ*๑)  
In reality, that could've gone better.  
\-----  
The break between their first and second year was too short for Atsushi's liking. Two more years and it would be break all the time, if he could just suffer through this right now. He was enrolled in Class 2, as usual. The majority of the students had known him for a year now, some longer, but some had managed to see him for the first fime. It was the same every year- ugly stares, invasive questions, snide comments, clichéd insults- but it still hurt to hear them.  
Thank goodness Aomine wasn't in his class. He couldn't survive a whole nother year with that ugly mug for more than basketball practice. If he heard correctly, Kise was supposed to be in his class, but was nowhere to be seen. Whispers from the girls nearby informed him that Kise was ditching the first day of the new year for an interview with some magazine. Great, the only teammate he could tolerate sitting near and he wasn't even present.  
On the second day of the new year, Kise strolled through the door as flamboyantly as he could at such a distasteful hour of the day. He gasped when he saw Atsushi hunching in the corner and spilled his stuff into the free seat near the purple giant. "I didn't know you'd be in this class!"  
"You would have if you came yesterday," said Atsushi devoid of malice.  
Kise smiled at him. "Well I have your gift! It's a little late, I know, but you are a tough man to reach, no pun intended." Atsushi stared at the blond, unamused at the pun, but Kise just barreled on. "So you can think of it as a late-graduation-slash-early-birthday gift." Without further ado, he reached into his bag and extracted a thin box, probably containing a clothing item. "Go on, open it! I've been waiting to see your face all summer."  
Atsushi opened the box, it was lighter than he was expecting but at least there was no tacky wrapping paper. Wrapping paper was such a hassle, his older siblings knew that and overdid it every gift-giving season. There was a white piece of cotton folded into a neat rectangle. Next to him, Kise was practically bouncing.  
He held up the shirt by the shoulders, and he was surprised to find that it might actually fit him. Even his parents forgot his measurements when it came time to buy new clothes, so to think someone he barely spoke to got it right the first time was sweet in itself. There were large numbers with apostrophes in the center, and smaller words underneath in he guessed English. "Uhh."  
"Do you like it?" Kise pleaded more than asked.  
"I... I don't know." Everybody already thought that he was an idiot, but English was hard to understand. All the characters had different pronunciations and pronouncing it wrong could change the whole sentence, so he often didn't try.  
"If I got the wrong size, I'm sorry!! I used a size up from your jersey, since American sizes are always so fickle. I can always-"  
"No," he cut off, and lowered his voice to just above a whisper. "I can't read it."  
Kise's face washed over with relief and his smile softened. "Silly Murasakibaracchi, all you had to do was ask." He pet Atsushi's head in the same way that Atsushi does; he considers that maybe he should stop doing that to people. "It's a shirt for really, really tall people. It says, 'Six-foot-ten-inches, Now you don't have to ask.' If you haven't grown any since the last time I saw you, it should be perfect!"  
Atsushi opened his mouth to say he wished it were candy, but paused. Images flashed in his mind: Midorima lighting the gift on fire right in front of his face; Akashi accepting it and telling his butler to dispose of it; Kuroko putting his in a box in his closet; Aomine laughing and shoving it back into Kise's hand. No doubt Aomine's had the most thought and feeling put into it. All of Kise's gifts were small gestures of comradery that none of the rest of the team would take to heart.  
Kise, hands clasped together in a prayer before his face, was practically counting on Atsushi to not hate his gift.  
"I don't have to answer how tall I am anymore. It was such a hassle."  
The response was more than his classmate was expecting, and said classmate squealed. "I was scared you wouldn't like something that wasn't edible." He rolled his eyes at his own foolishness, but the relief was evident.  
"But I..."  
Kise had gone to sit down at the desk, expecting the topic to be dropped. "Hm? You what?"  
"I feel bad because I..." Atsushi cast a glance to the side. "Forgot your graduation gift at my house." Why did I say that?  
Kise fell into his seat and gaped. "You got me a gift?? That's so sweet of you; you didn't have to get me anything!"  
"Yeah. Well." With a shrug, Atsushi pulled out and opened his textbook.  
"Oh, I can't wait to see it. No hints! I want to be completely surprised."  
His teammate had such a fatigued look on his face last time they met, quite possibly due to Aomine. If a white lie (and an actual gift) was all it took to wipe that damn frown off of Kise's face, he decided maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. Atsushi hid his phone under his desk, clicking through recent conversations.  
To: Muro Chin muro chin i need ur help  
\-----  
"Don't you ever contact me just to say hello?"  
The train had terrible reception, and Himuro's words kept fading in and out. Atsushi hummed, leaning his head against the bar he was holding.  
"Sorry I couldn't answer during class. What were you doing texting during class?"  
"It was before class started. The teacher was running late, too."  
"Well, clearly it wasn't an emergency," Himuro deduced. "What's up?"  
"I need to get someone a present. Are you busy?"  
"Presently, no. But my brother's coming over in a bit; I'm meeting his new boyfriend. Sorry, Atsushi. What about that captain of yours? Aren't you close with him? Perhaps he could help."  
"Aka-chin? Nah, he's busy. He probably wouldn't help anyway."  
"What did you have in mind? Candy?"  
Atsushi shook his head, hoping that it conveyed his confusion, but then remembered how Himuro couldn't see him. "Maybe. If I can't think of anything else. But I don't know what kind of sweets he likes..."  
"Who is it? That might be a good starting point."  
The train stopped, and the people emptied onto the platform, only to be immediately replaced by new bodies. "Kise-chin." People bumped into his sides and he grunted.  
"Your teammate? Well, I'm glad you're at least getting along with some of them. What's the occasion?"  
"He got me something, so I said I got him something, so now I need to get him something."  
"A random gift from a teammate. That's cute."  
The comment felt less innocuous than it should have, and he was quick to his own defense. "He got everyone something. For moving into second year."  
"And they all got him something in return? So you feel obligated."  
"Well." Not that he knew of. "I don't know. He made me cookies before, too. Nobody else made me cookies. And Valentine's chocolate. And Slim Jims."  
"...Atsushi, I think he might be trying to flirt with you."  
The train halted and the Teiko Center nearly fell on his ass. "Huh?" He was too puzzled to notice the lessened elbow room.  
"Unless he's trying to get you to do something. Has he been using snacks to get you to do something?"  
To get close to Mine-chin, he thought bitterly. "No. Just being nice."  
"Then it's very possible he's trying to gain your affection."  
The person standing next to Atsushi huffed at how someone could be so rude as to talk on the phone on the train, but the boy paid them no mind. Kise? Confess to him? His head swam, and an odd lightness filled his chest.  
"So I wouldn't get him a gift, it might send him the wrong idea."  
Atsushi shook his head, coming back to the conversation. "Wrong idea?"  
"Yeah. You don't want to get his hopes up if you aren't going to return his feelings."  
"Okay. And if I... still want to get him something, what should I get him?"  
Through the phone came a small breath, the kind that Atsushi knew to come before Himuro's smile. It made him bite his lip, a little embarrassed. "Something small should do the trick. A stuffed animal might be too cutesy, so I'd say a book or a t-shirt would be fine. If he reads. Does he read at all?"  
"Shirt it is. Thanks, Muro-chin."  
"No problem. Oh shit, I lost track of the time. I gotta go, they'll be here soon."  
"'Kay. Bye." Atsushi hit the button to disconnect the call, thinking a little more about the possibility of his blond friend having a crush on him. If Kise was nice enough to get him American snacks and an American shirt that fit him, he supposed that- wrong idea or not- he could get a thank-you gift. But it had to be special.  
Two stops later, he stepped off the train and into the shopping district. It felt bizarre to be in such a casual setting with his school uniform still on, but he didn't want to go home and change, lest the better shops close. The amount of energy he'd waste...  
A shirt was his best option he, considering all things. Kise wasn't stupid, but in reality wouldn't have time to sit down and read an entire novel for fun. And Kise didn't have to love the gift, he just had to appreciate it enough to fake a smile and shove it in his backpack. With that, Atsushi was much less anxious about finding something "perfect."  
\-----  
Atsushi touched his backpack absentmindedly, crinkling the bag inside, while staring at the door. Kise sure was running late this morning. It wasn't that he was paying attention to Kise's schedule, but he was usually never this late. Even if he'd overslept, he should've been here by now. The teacher droned on about mathematics, but Atsushi couldn't care less.  
His mind wandered to the margins of his note paper, shifting from the typical boxes and triangles to more rounded shaped. The only reason he'd gotten the gift in the first place was so Kise wouldn't get his feelings hurt. There was nothing in his original plan about returning said feelings, yet here he was. Here he was, and here Kise was not. The hand holding the pencil made an upside-down teardrop shape and then another joined by the same vertex. It resembled something of a heart.  
This whole thing was making him antsy, but not necessarily in a bad way. He'd never had someone have a crush on him- as far as he could tell- and certainly never had a confession. It was all so new, he couldn't help but daydream about him and Kise together. Sharing snacks didn't sound so unappealing, and just maybe they could do that dumb couple-thing where you both eat opposite ends and meet in the middle and... wow, a very brief image of kissing Kise-chin made his heart stutter.  
Perhaps Kise would be- no, he definitelywould be a good kisser, with his plump lips and eager tongue present in half his photos. And he was just tall enough that he'd have to stand on his tippy-toes to wrap his arms around Atsushi's neck. Atsushi would respond in kind, tentatively wrapping one arm around Kise's waist and the other gravitating to gingerly cup Kise's cheek. The blond's general disposition led Atsushi to believe that Kise would linger as long as he could, their lips would remain connected not necessarily in a kiss, just resting on each other. Kise would whisper into his breath that he'd been waiting for this for a long time, and Atsushi would pull him closer for a firmer kiss. Then they'd do that dumb forehead touch thing and Kise would bubble out a short laugh of contentment and-  
Forty minutes after the class begins, the final student bursts through the door. His hair is a mess, his sweater is untucked, and he's breathing rather heavily. Atsushi's breath catches, but he isn't sure if that's related to the sight or not. The teacher dismisses his immediate bow and apology, instructing him to 'just go to his desk, Kise-kun.'  
Kise promptly slips into the desk beside his teammate, trying in vain to fix his hair. Before Atsushi can catch himself staring, he goes back to taking notes. Or, rather, doodling hearts on the margin of his notes. At the risk of somebody seeing him in this lonely corner, he didn't accompany the hearts with a name, but the only one who might take any notice or interest wasn't looking at him. In fact, Kise was staring straight at the board with a goofy grin and he kept touching his fingers to his lips.  
When lunchtime rolled around, Kise bolted out of the classroom before Atsushi had even grabbed his backpack. Throughout the first couple of classes, he'd been smiling down at his phone and not even trying to hide the fact that he was texting. Maybe he'd gotten some good news on a new modeling deal or something; Atsushi didn't have the courage to ask.  
But that didn't help right now, when he was supposed to be giving Kise his gift and making them official boyfriends. The word rang through his head, first a loud warning of "You've gone too far, turn back now," and then a gentle hum of "Look how far you can go from here." Kise Ryouta- International Model and Star Basketball Small Forward and his boyfriend. A lump in his throat made it hard to swallow, but he had to find Kise and get this over with before he melted into a puddle.

**Author's Note:**

> ngl I have no fucking clue how to write Himuro I'm so sorry to people disappointed in his character.  
> despite canonically being an idiot, murasakibara's best subject is physics so i tried to expand on that.  
> KILL ME KILL ME KILL ME THIS THING IS SO LONG AND ITS STILL NOT DONE?? *cracks knuckles*


End file.
